BRAND NEW to the boards, and i thought i'd start by paying my respects in the section that probably started my quest for an impressive physique.

I mean, who didn't want to look like these guys?

Must say i'm really not a fan of current day wrestling, i've tried. Recently though i downloaded a near 200 gig file with the entire WCW Nitro library on it ..out've shear boredom being on holidays. It's been surprisingly awesome, from '95 at the Mall of America all the way to McMahon appearing through satellite.

I'm up to early '96 and i really think Luger's reputation doesn't get a fair shake. No his not Angle or Benoit or even Savage, but he wasn't horrible or near bad as i was lead to believe. Also he walked around at a very low bf year round for what seems like a decade??

What's a wrestlers reputation you feel has never lived up (good or bad) to expectation?

The recurring criticism I hear the most regarding Luger was that he was very “mechanical” in the ring; meaning he seldom deviated from a very basic, textbook-style. However, he was also very safe and cooperative to work with, and I suspect that’s why a lot of guys liked working with him.

His physique was absolutely impressive. No doubt the end result of hard work, a disciplined lifestyle, great genetics, and a good working knowledge of anabolics.

He was never my favorite character, per se, but I didn’t hate him by any means. Too bad he never got over in the Fed. They couldn’t have pushed him any harder than they did.

1. Luger was difficult to work with, not in the ring but rather from a backstage/contract emphasis. When he went back to WCW for Mall of America, Bischoff stated in an interview that he didn't want him.He was difficult, lazy and wanted the world.

2. He was not born into the business or really didn't have the passion for the business. It was more of a paycheck and spotlight. It was either Falir or Dusty that said this.

3. His whole 180 I found Jesus thing is bull. He sounds soo fake in recent interviews. Like Cornette said, you turn to Jesus because you have no friends. I am not knocking religion but between Lex and Shawn Michaels this seems to hold true.

Thanks for the responses guys, and Montague is right he really couldn't of been pushed much harder. I believe he was pretty over sometime in '97, as i remember him submitting Hogan for the Title and the crowd going nuts. I also remember that victory being very shortlived. How much of that crowd going wild was based on Hogan actually losing though i'm not sure, but i can tell you when i'm up to there lol.

And i understand the attitude problem, the contract demands and the very (very) wooden delivery. But i was just surprised to learn at some point, Luger could "Go", with the right opponent of course. Which is still more then i was lead to believe.

Who knows, maybe i'm just impressed with his decade long physique lol Though we've seen where that led him..

Oh and i came across the download on demonoid, worth the wait if you're a 90's fan

Like others have said, Luger might be the most impressive physique maintaining guy in the history of the sport. NEVER looked less than damn near perfect.

He was certainly not the most technical guy in the ring, but he was very respectable and filled the role he should have. Great fit with the Horsemen as a member and also fueding with them. He and Sting as a team were as over as any faces in the NWA/WCW during that time period.

Don't know if you guys followed his very early work in Florida, but he was very hot in that territory is why Flair suggested bringing him to JCP, if I'm not mistaken.

Like others have said, Luger might be the most impressive physique maintaining guy in the history of the sport. NEVER looked less than damn near perfect.

He was certainly not the most technical guy in the ring, but he was very respectable and filled the role he should have. Great fit with the Horsemen as a member and also fueding with them. He and Sting as a team were as over as any faces in the NWA/WCW during that time period.

Don't know if you guys followed his very early work in Florida, but he was very hot in that territory is why Flair suggested bringing him to JCP, if I'm not mistaken.

I know I might be in the minority, but he is one of my favorite Horsemen. Like you said, he fit the role they gave him perfectly. Or maybe they gave him the only role he could make. Either way, it was great.

Remember when he came back, I think with Liz, after about six months off in the late 90's. I think he wore a black robe. As great as he always looked, he looked 20% better and 20 pounds heavier then.

I remember seeing him at a show in Atlanta around 04. This was before his documented health problems. He still had some size, but could barely get around. It was sad.

I was always a fan, but not every one belongs at the top of the card. I think a lot of people believe that every guy has to be a main eventer. Luger was a high mid card kind of guy IMO, nothing wrong with that at all.

Big might know for sure, he knew some of the guys who hung-out with Luger in Atlanta, but I think that his health failing was caused at least in part by being a very hard drinker. I'm sure it was most likely liver problems. Combining AAS for that long plus heavy booze and who knows what other drugs was just a problem waiting to happen.

1. Luger was difficult to work with, not in the ring but rather from a backstage/contract emphasis. When he went back to WCW for Mall of America, Bischoff stated in an interview that he didn't want him.He was difficult, lazy and wanted the world.

2. He was not born into the business or really didn't have the passion for the business. It was more of a paycheck and spotlight. It was either Falir or Dusty that said this.

3. His whole 180 I found Jesus thing is bull. He sounds soo fake in recent interviews. Like Cornette said, you turn to Jesus because you have no friends. I am not knocking religion but between Lex and Shawn Michaels this seems to hold true.

As a kid i liked him but he was never a favourite, i.e. i wouldnt scream at my dad to buy me his figure! He just had no real impact IMO and didnt quite have that fit in the industry when Sting wasnt involved - you could take him completely out of the picture and nobody would really notice. The Allied Powers offered him the most potential to earn acclaim and even that was buried.

This brings me to a much discussed point - Davey was a major player with incredible potential (given the right guidance) yet he seemed to be put in a position to push others at every turn. HBK, Luger, Vader to name a few all benefited from his efforts in the ring whilst he himself seemed held back. Hell of a shame.

This brings me to a much discussed point - Davey was a major player with incredible potential (given the right guidance) yet he seemed to be put in a position to push others at every turn. HBK, Luger, Vader to name a few all benefited from his efforts in the ring whilst he himself seemed held back. Hell of a shame.

I think Davey was a hell of an opponent to work with. The biggest criticism I’ve heard regarding his work is that he tended to be more of a follower rather than a leader in the ring. He could give you just about whatever you needed in a match, but you had to call the shots (dictate the direction).That was evident even back in his Stampede & early WWF days, when Bret & Dynamite did all of the thinking for the two teams, while Davey & Jim more or less sat off to the side horsing around.

I also suspect that Davey’s problems outside the ring - including, but not limited to substance use - prevented him from getting that really big push. Remember that he abandoned the WWF ship several times during his career. At least two of those departures were due to a family member‘s influence.

Sorry....let me rephrase....more enemies than friends. He partied hard, watch Scott Halls ESPN biopic it was mentined here and also in Jericho's book. It's sad that alot of the great wrestlers like Eddie, Curt H, Benoit died too young while others came away pretty much unscathed.

Big might know for sure, he knew some of the guys who hung-out with Luger in Atlanta, but I think that his health failing was caused at least in part by being a very hard drinker. I'm sure it was most likely liver problems. Combining AAS for that long plus heavy booze and who knows what other drugs was just a problem waiting to happen.

Yes, the word there was he liked his vodka. He was a functioning alcoholic that drank pretty much all day every day. I think that was the root of his breakup with Sting.

Luger didn't do a powerslam. He did a pathetic little pick up and drop to his knees dump move.

I liked his physique best back in his horsemen days. At the end with his run in the nWo he was taking on that stringy beef jerky look to his muscles.

I wasn't a fan of his in ring work. However, to me the best in ring work he did was the scheming cheater stuff he did when he was teaming with Sting in his second WCW run. Back when Sting was trying to keep him on the straight and narrow path, they would tag team and Luger would blatantly cheat his ass off every time Sting wasn't looking. Then stand behind Sting and hold his TV title belt up in the air with a big grin on his face.